


red carnations

by likeuwuahh



Series: minayeon and baby hyejoo [2]
Category: LOONA (Korea Band), TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Minor angst at the start
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29237631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeuwuahh/pseuds/likeuwuahh
Summary: it takes a recital email for nayeon to realise they've been drifting away from their daughter, hyejoo.fear of losing everything, she makes the decision to turn things around by being there for her daughter.(in helping her out with her crush)
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina, Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Series: minayeon and baby hyejoo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146890
Comments: 5
Kudos: 183





	red carnations

**Author's Note:**

> for @myouimina! thank you :]

nayeon finishes the last of her proposals for work as it hits two in the morning. she yawns, stretching out her arms to ease the soreness. she’d been working tirelessly through the night to finish her work before the deadline. she sits back for a moment, blinking in the darkness of their house. she sifts through her emails one last time, coming across one that’s been left unread for a few weeks. when had she received an email from hyejoo’s school?

**_dear parents/caregivers,_ **

**_you are invited to attend the annual end of year recital that your child(ren) are taking part in. please confirm your attendance by replying to the email as soon as you can._ **

**_it’ll be taking place in the school gymnasium on december 4th, beginning at 6pm._ **

she curses under her breath as she reads the contents of the email. she can’t believe she missed this. the event is later this evening. if nayeon hadn’t found it, hyejoo would be guttered when neither of her parents would be in the crowd. she panics, not knowing how to go about this. she needs to tell mina, wants to talk to hyejoo but it’s already so late. nayeon groans, feeling disappointed in herself. she should’ve been handling her time better. hyejoo is still a child, even if she’s in high school now. how can it pass over her head?

since it’s the end of the year, work is a lot more hectic. not only for her, but for mina too, who spends her time in her office rather than at home. in the midst of it all, hyejoo has been spending more time with dahyun, chaeyoung and tzuyu. nayeon frowns as she thinks about the last time she’d had a proper conversation with her daughter. this isn’t like her. she shouldn’t be putting her work first. it’s always been family. she knows she needs to make amends, make more time for the more valuable parts of her life.

she rubs her face, decides to start fixing it from today. she’s already taken leave for the next two days. nayeon will talk to mina about it and get their lives back on track. she doesn’t want to overthink it but this is  _ exactly _ what can be the cause of the breaking of a relationship. and that’s one thing she never wants to experience. with a heavy heart, she heads off to bed. she’s aware it’ll be a lengthy climb to reach what they used to be like before, but nayeon needs to start somewhere. she’s grateful for the awakening.

/

throughout the night, nayeon barely gets any sleep. she’s wide-awake before mina and hyejoo, taking it as a good thing. she chooses to wake mina up too, ignoring her whines of protest. maybe it would be better if they make breakfast together this morning, a small step in the right direction for the three of them.

“baby? come on. we need to talk.” nayeon sits beside mina. as soon as the words leave her mouth, mina sits up, panic written all over her face. “it’s about hyejoo.”

“what happened?” mina’s voice is still laced with sleep. she pushes herself up to listen to nayeon, uneasy about her answer.

“first, can i just say that i’m really sorry? i know i haven’t been around much for you or hyejoo and i lost track of everything around me. i’m feeling incredibly guilty. i’ll work on it.” nayeon looks down in shame. “i promise to do better.”

it takes a moment for mina to respond, clearly still processing from being awoken so early. but nayeon doesn’t get scolded like she expects. instead, there’s a gentle kiss placed on the top of her head and warm hands cupping her cheeks.

“you’re taking this all on yourself when the two of us are equally to blame. work completely derailed our lives and we didn’t stop to think about the consequences.” mina sighs, carding her fingers through nayeon’s hair. “i’m sorry too. and thank you, for being the one to bring us back. always my lighthouse, hmm?”

nayeon groans, the echoes of her pick-up line making the embarrassment seep into her mind.

“you said something about hyejoo too?” mina points out.

“oh. so, she has a recital today. later in the evening. i took the day off and tomorrow, just to take a break and spend some time with her.” nayeon shows the email to mina. “do you want to do the same? i think we need to go back to our original roots.”

mina’s eyes water and nayeon is quick to bring her in her arms, rubbing circles on her back soothingly. “we’ve been terrible, haven’t we? she couldn’t even tell us.”

“i think we need to make a start, fix it up now. maybe we can make breakfast together? i’m terrified to even consider that we’ll lose her. i don’t want that.” nayeon shakes her head. mina agrees and the two of them head to their kitchen.

breakfast is nothing complicated and the two of them work together to finish making it in record time. but, the look on hyejoo’s face as she walks in and sees them pains their heart. the fact that she’s  _ surprised _ to receive this treatment from her parents. regret pools in the pit of nayeon’s stomach as their daughter sits on the table quietly, confusion plastered across her face. this is their fault.

as if aware of her inner turmoil, mina reaches out, threads their fingers together. they’re in this together.

“good morning sweetie.” nayeon smiles, pushing the plate to her daughter. “you have a big day ahead, so we wanted to be there for you.”

“you guys know?” hyejoo looks dumbfounded as she looks between her parents.

“i know we haven’t been around as much as we should have been. for that, we’re both  _ really _ sorry hyejoo. and yes, an apology won’t cut it. we’re trying to work on it and do better. we won’t let this happen again.” mina stands by hyejoo’s side. “please tell us about these things in the future, okay?”

“i didn’t know how to tell you. i understand that you’re both busy with work and things are difficult. i thought you wouldn’t want me to add extra on top of that, so i kept it to myself. sorry, moms.” hyejoo reaches out to hug both of them. “i didn’t think aunt jeongyeon would tell you about my crush, honestly.”

“wait, what crush?” nayeon almost gives herself whiplash from turning her head so quickly. she hadn’t heard anything about this when she’d talked to her friend yesterday.

hyejoo opens her mouth and closes it, embarrassment clearly creeping in as the tips of her ears turn pink. “isn’t that what you were talking about? rooting for my confession today? i thought that’s what you meant.”

“you have a crush?” mina takes lead of the conversation now that nayeon is preoccupied, still recovering from shock.

taking a bite of her breakfast, hyejoo nods meekly. “it’s been a few months. we’re friends and have been talking almost every day.”

“what’s her name?” mina smiles encouragingly.

“you’re not going to tease me?” hyejoo eyes her warily, knowing her parents’ love for that.

“we’ll decide later.” nayeon chooses to join in.

for a moment, hyejoo looks hesitant to speak, shoulders tense. mina reaches out, elbowing nayeon to do the same. the two silently reassure her, watching as she relaxes almost immediately. it tugs on their heart. this is what they  _ should’ve _ been doing more of. supporting her, being there for her. hyejoo shouldn’t have to be nervous to talk to either of them.

“her name is chaewon.” hyejoo mumbles. “she was a transfer student this semester and after showing her around, we became friends pretty quickly.”

a moment later, nayeon doesn’t hesitate to pinch her cheeks, cooing over her. “look at you being so cute.” hyejoo whines, tries to get her to let go. “i hope you didn’t take any advice from aunt jeongyeon. she’s hopeless in this area, that’s why aunt jihyo was the one to ask her out.”

“well…”

“honestly, you shouldn’t be talking either, nayeon.” mina raises her eyebrows. before she has a chance to explain what she means, nayeon covers her mouth, grinning at their daughter.

“okay, let’s make a plan. what were you thinking?” nayeon cuts in, redirecting the conversation. “wait, when are you going to have time to confess when you’ll be on stage?”

“oh. you see, i’m the main lead.” hyejoo points out. “and the person opposite me is…”

“chaewon.” mina chuckles. their daughter looks away, not making eye-contact with either of them. “she definitely got that from you.”

“got  _ what _ ?” nayeon looks taken aback as mina points to her.

“being whipped for the person she likes.”

nayeon’s extremely tempted to wipe that smug smile off her wife’s face, but she relents, knowing their attention should be on their daughter instead. she can get her payback later on.

_ of course, _ hyejoo would choose to do this so she could spend some more time her crush. if anything, dahyun and chaeyoung would’ve encouraged her to do so. tzuyu would’ve tried to prevent it, only to cave in later. it’s cute how the four of them are there for each other in times like this.

“i’m sure part of this was dahyun and chaeyoung’s idea.” nayeon laughs. “it’s a good one. those two are always up to trouble but when it comes to you or tzuyu, they know what’s best for you. must take after jihyo in that area.”

“oh, right. what did aunt jeongyeon tell you?” mina remembers, hoping she hadn’t ill-advised hyejoo on what to do.

“she said i should do a grand gesture and go all out.” hyejoo fiddles with her sweater as she explains what she was recommended to do a week ago. her aunt had been keen on making sure chaewon got the picture. and to do that, she had to proudly declare her feelings. but, she’d never had a chance and didn’t feel too courageous to dive into that option.

“i don’t suppose that’s what your heart wants, is it? i think it’s better if you follow your heart.” nayeon suggests, taking mina by surprise. “what? i can come up with some ideas.”

“if only you used that on yourself.” mina mumbles under her breath. “sweetie, did the girls suggest anything? i’m sure they were more than eager to help you out.”

“dahyun and chaeyoung want me to say something to her on stage today. tzuyu said i should speak with her privately. i’ve just been holding on to this for so long, i want it to be over.” hyejoo sighs. “if this fails, can i move schools? i don’t think i’d want to be there after being rejected.”

“you’re amazing, hyejoo. i’m sure chaewon would say yes. what reason can she have to say no? you have plenty of admirable characteristics, from me, of course.” nayeon ignores mina’s pointed look. “and if the other three are encouraging this, that means that they can see that you two will work. no one knows you better than them.” she chuckles. “i think you can do it and i can’t wait to meet her. i never thought i’d be seeing my daughter’s future partner so soon.”

“mom!” hyejoo groans as nayeon speaks. “you ruined it with the end.”

“i agree.” mina shakes her head before turning to hyejoo. “i think mom is on the right track with following your heart. no one knows chaewon like you do. you know what to say and what to say that makes her happy. you know what makes her tick. you don’t need to be someone you’re not, okay? just be you.”

“do you think that’ll work?” hyejoo frowns. “i wanted to meet her after the performance and give her a bunch of flowers to tell her how i feel. but then i thought that was too cheesy. everyone does that. it won’t stand out like aunt jeongyeon said.”

“but do you think she’ll like it?”

hyejoo nods immediately.

“then, that’s definitely what matters more. you need to always be true to yourself rather than present yourself as someone who would never do that on a normal day. chaewon knows you for who you are normally. follow your heart and always be yourself.”

/

nayeon and mina find their seats near the front of the hall. even though they wanted to go behind the stage to meet their daughter, the two of them chose to remain in the crowd.

as soon as the curtains close, the gymnasium grows quiet. hyejoo is on stage and nayeon and mina watch her, amazed by her talent. despite her intention for being on stage being something entirely different, hyejoo looks like she belongs there. the two of them are in awe of her strength to be up there, overcoming her shyness. they couldn’t be more proud of their daughter.

when the show ends, nayeon and mina wait for the crowd to disperse before approaching hyejoo. she’s swarmed with friends and classmates, all cheering her on for her performance. from afar, no one would be able to tell that she’s actually nervous, most likely because of her intention to confess to chaewon. she keeps checking back, making sure her crush is still around.

“i think we should rescue her. she’ll never get out of that crowd.” mina shakes her head, pushing through to reach hyejoo.

the relief on her face is evident as soon as they reach, the people giving them space and moving away.

“i thought i’d never get out of that.” hyejoo mumbles.

“hyejoo.” nayeon’s tone is serious as she looks at her daughter. she seems frightened with the change. “i’m so proud of you!” she loops her arms around hyejoo, giggling.

“you almost gave me a heart attack mom. i thought i was in trouble.” hyejoo grumbles, not appreciating the scare.

mina cuts in, hugging her too before handing her a bouquet of pretty flowers. “you did so well on stage. we’re grateful to be able to witness you on stage. i know it was for chaewon, but you really shined.”

“thank you.” hyejoo’s eyes water as the two of them compliment her endlessly.

“oh, the flowers aren’t for you, actually.” nayeon explains. “we want you to take them for your confession. you were in a rush earlier, so we thought we could get you a bouquet instead. the florist said this would be perfect, something about carnations meaning admiration or something like that. i hope chaewon will like it too.”

“seriously? this isn’t you teasing me again?” hyejoo cautiously asks.

“we want you to be happy. and if this is where your happiness lies, we’re going to be by your side. like we said earlier, we’re going to do our best to make amends. and even though this is something small, we’re going to do everything for your happiness.” nayeon pats her head. she doesn’t expect to be thrown out of balance as hyejoo hugs her tightly, expressing her gratitude. “princess, i believe chaewon is headed your way.”

she almost laughs at how quickly her daughter pulls away, whipping her head to the side. chaewon is heading her way with her parents. hyejoo hastily smooths out her outfit, runs her hand through her hair.

“you look fine, hyejoo. beautiful.” mina reaches out to hold her hand. she wants her to relax. “remember that she knows you already. just be yourself.”

hyejoo nods, smiling. she draws in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

“hi, nice to meet you. we’re chaewon’s parents. i’m sooyoung and this is my wife, jiwoo. it’s so nice to finally meet you!” chaewon’s parents are lively as they approach nayeon and mina.

“hello! i’m nayeon and this is my wife, mina.” nayeon introduces, attempting to guide them away from the two girls. it works. hyejoo mouths a thank you as nayeon walks them to the side.

the four parents fall into a casual conversation as their daughters slip behind the curtains to talk. nayeon has her fingers crossed for her daughter, though, she knows it’s not really necessary. the way chaewon kept glancing at hyejoo after their performance had already given her the answer she needed. it’s clear that chaewon likes hyejoo too.

fifteen minutes later, the girls returned. hyejoo didn’t give any signs of how it went, other than the fact that the bouquet had been successfully passed on. as soon as they parted ways, nayeon looked to her daughter for her response.

“so…?”

the reddening of her cheeks is all it takes and nayeon cheers, mina desperately trying to quieten her down.

“she said she liked me too.” hyejoo attempts to sound nonchalant as she reiterates. “and she liked the flowers.”

“we’re happy for you, sweetie.” mina hugs her tightly. “you two look incredibly adorable. her parents had a lot of high praises for you too.”

“really?”

“well, that’s not that surprising, is it? charming the parents is definitely–”

“not from you.” mina cuts off nayeon’s words.

“excuse you, i was going to say that it’s from you.” nayeon huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “she’d been amazing with my parents too. i’m not surprised.”

“i love you both. thank you for being here for me.” hyejoo draws the two of them in a group hug.

“thank you for giving us another chance to.” nayeon pulls away, kissing the top of hyejoo’s head. no matter what, or how old she is, she’ll always be her baby.

just as they finish their conversation, dahyun and chaeyoung run in, hugging hyejoo and asking her how it went. tzuyu laughs at their antics at the back. nayeon and mina choose to give them space, moving away. but, hyejoo approaches them a few minutes later.

“the girls are going out for dinner and were asking if i could go. can i please go? i’ll be home quickly.” hyejoo asks hesitantly. “and chaewon too…”

“who’s driving?” mina looks between the girls.

“tzuyu.”

“okay, that’s fine.” mina laughs as dahyun and chaeyoung shout in protest.

“you might just want to wipe some of that lip gloss off the edge of your lips, hyejoo.” nayeon teases. “and make sure to tell us about the date!”

“it’s not a date!”

/

they make a promise this time and they don’t intend to break it.

**Author's Note:**

> @likeuwuahh on twitter


End file.
